Micah 1
1
1The word of Adonai that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—visions he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Smashing Idols in the High Places
2Hear, O peoples—all of you! Attention, O land and everything in it! Adonai Elohim will be witness against you— The Lord from His holy Temple.
3For behold, Adonai is coming forth out of His place. He will come down and trample on the high places of the land.
4The mountains will melt away under Him and the valleys will split apart like wax before the fire, like water being poured down a slope.
5All this is because of Jacob’s transgression and the sins of the house of Israel. Who is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? Who are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?
6So I will make Samaria into a ruin in the countryside, planting places for a vineyard. I will hurl her stones into the valley and will lay bare her foundations.
7All her images will be smashed, all her prostitute’s pay burned with fire, and all her idols I will make desolate. For from prostitute’s pay she collected them and to prostitute’s pay they will return.
8Concerning this let me lament and howl. Let me walk barefoot and naked. I will make a howl like jackals and a mourning like ostriches.
9For her wounds are incurable. For it has come up to Judah. It has reached the gate of my people— even up to Jerusalem!
10Tell it not in Gath—weep not at all. At Beth-le-aphrah roll in the dust.
11Pass on, you who dwell in Saphir— nakedness and shame— she who dwells in Zaanan will not come out. Wailing of Beth-ezel: He will take from you its standing-place.
12For she who dwells in Maroth has languished for something good. For calamity has come down from Adonai to Jerusalem’s gate.
13Harness the chariot to the steed, O inhabitant of Lachish! It was the beginning of sin for the Daughter of Zion— because in you were found the rebellions of Israel.
14Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath—houses of Achzib as a deception to the kings of Israel.
15Yet I will bring the possessor to you, inhabitant of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will come as far as Adullam.
16Shave yourself bald, yes shear your hair for the children of your delight. Enlarge your bald spot like a vulture, for they went from you into exile.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Micah 1
1
1The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
I. ORACLES OF PUNISHMENT
2Hear, O peoples, all of you,
give heed, O earth, and all that is in it!#Dt 32:1; Is 1:2.
Let the Lord God be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple!#The prophet summons all the peoples to hear the divine accusations against them. What follows in 1:2–3:12 is a series of prophecies of punishment addressed to the capital cities of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, Samaria and Jerusalem. The prophecies indict the leaders and main officials, including prophets. Because of the corruption and selfishness of their leaders, Samaria and Jerusalem will fall to their enemies.
3For see, the Lord goes out from his place#Is 26:21; Na 1:5; Hb 3:10.
and descending, treads upon the heights of the earth.#The Lord comes in a theophany which has devastating effects on the natural world (1:4).
4The mountains melt under him
and the valleys split open,
Like wax before the fire,
like water poured down a slope.
5All this is for the crime of Jacob,
for the sins of the house of Israel.#Although the summons (1:2) had been addressed to all people, the Lord speaks against Israel and Judah, identifying their crimes with the respective capital cities of Samaria and Jerusalem. Only Samaria, however, is scheduled for destruction in the announcement of punishment (vv. 6–7).
What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria?
And what is the sin of the house of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6So I will make Samaria a ruin in the field,
a place to plant vineyards;
I will throw its stones into the valley,
and lay bare its foundations.#The punishment of Samaria will be a military disaster such as the one that actually came at the hands of the Assyrian army in 722/721 B.C.
7All its carved figures shall be broken to pieces,#Hos 9:1.
all its wages shall be burned in the fire,
and all its idols I will destroy.
As the wages of a prostitute#The wages of a prostitute: as often in the prophets, prostitution is a metaphor for idolatry (Hos 1–3; 4:14). They shall return: i.e., Samaria’s idols shall come to nothing just as the wages of a prostitute are counted as nothing. it gathered them,
and to the wages of a prostitute they shall return.
8#The prophet laments and wails, singing a funeral song or dirge over the city of Jerusalem. Finally (1:16) he calls upon the people of Jerusalem to join in the mourning.For this I will lament and wail,
go barefoot and naked;
I will utter lamentation like the jackals,
mourning like the ostriches,#Jb 30:29.
9For her wound is incurable;
it has come even to Judah.
It has reached to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
10#Not all of the cities and villages in this long list can be located with certainty. However, those which can be identified, including the prophet’s hometown, lie southwest of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew, wordplays on the names of these cities abound. The territory involved corresponds to that decimated by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 B.C., during the reign of Hezekiah. Do not weep at all: some commentators and translators understand the Hebrew differently. They argue that the translation “in (unknown place name) weep!” fits the context better.Do not announce it in Gath,
do not weep at all;
In Beth-leaphrah
roll in the dust.#2 Sm 1:20.
11Pass by,
you who dwell in Shaphir!
The inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come forth from their city.
There is lamentation in Beth-ezel.
It will withdraw its support from you.
12The inhabitants of Maroth
hope for good,
But evil has come down from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13Harness steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
You are the beginning of sin
for daughter Zion,
For in you were found
the crimes of Israel.
14Therefore you must give back the dowry
to Moresheth-gath;
The houses of Achzib#The houses of Achzib: there is a wordplay here. In the Hebrew, the word translated here as “dry stream bed” is ’achzab; this word is sometimes translated as “deception” or “disappointment.” are a dry stream bed
to the kings of Israel.
15Again I will bring the conqueror to you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
The glory of Israel shall come
even to Adullam.
16Make yourself bald, cut off your hair,
for the children whom you cherish;
Make yourself bald as a vulture,
for they are taken from you into exile.#Shaving the head was a sign of mourning; cf. Is 3:24; Am 8:10.
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